Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness - A Change In Light
by Lord Daemon
Summary: An offshoot of my fanfiction, Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness Act VI, starting at Ch 9. Story by Phoenix Helix, written by Lord Daemon. Luna's wish through the dice has been heard, chance changes fate and the world beholds it's outcome. From time before these dice have been thrown, another is called by the chronofly's wish.


******To all those who actually read these little disclaimers, this is a work of fanfiction. I do not own Rosario + Vampire or any of the trademarked characters and locations from the respected creator. I am only placing this disclaimer here for the sake of stating the obvious, as it should be plain to see for everybody with common sense that of course I didn't create Rosario + Vampire. Seriously, do we really need these disclaimers here? Who the hell is going to try to say they created R+V? Who could really be that stupid?**

**Now then, this story is an offshoot from my Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness saga, taking place during the events of Act VI Chapter 9. The story itself is from Phoenix Helix with me writing the chapters for him. All credit for the story goes to Phoenix Helix, I am merely allowing him to use my own fanfiction as a launching board for his own story. All my OCs are used with my permission, all OCs from Phoenix Helix belong to him.**

* * *

**Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness - A Change In Light**

"Get us out of here!" Kurumu screamed as she held onto the side door and seat with fright. The back window of the SUV cracked severely as gunfire echoed out, the vehicle swerving as the side mirrors were shot right off while the windows cracked from the bullets flying at them.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Sandra yelled back as she tried to keep the vehicle steady, racing down a road right behind two HDA trucks that were coming under heavy fire.

"This is crazy, they're sending the entire army after us," Rason said looking back out the window, seeing a large task force of helicopters and humvees chasing after them.

"We need to get to the monster world right away!" Moka cried out as she held onto her seat with fear.

"I don't think we're going to make it like this," Gabriel said before a bullet shot through the roof of the truck and pierced through the front windshield, the glass cracking as Sandra screamed in terror. She tried to keep driving steady while following behind the other HDA trucks ahead of her. Inside one of the trucks Razico was looking out his window with frustration as bullets struck at the truck from behind, the occupants looking around worriedly as sparks and dents lit up along the ceiling.

"Hurry up! They're right behind us!" Yukari cried out as she gripped her hat with fright.

"There's so many out there, we can't outrun them all!" Ruby cried out as she saw helicopters and humvees chasing after the group, before her mirror was shot right off the truck. One of the vehicle's rear tires was shot off, the truck swerving as the warlock tried to keep it steady.

"We're all going to die!" Ran cried out as she held Ahakon out of fear, with half of the boy's face being pushed into her chest as he thrashed around. The siren screamed as a bullet tore through the chassis and struck past her, jumping back with fright as the group saw the smoking hole in the rear of the truck.

"This thing isn't entirely bulletproof, do something!" Gin shouted out.

"I'm trying, not much else I can do besides floor it here!" Razico shouted back.

"Well that's not working, think of something else quick!" Kokoa cried out as another bullet pierced through the chassis and struck into the ground between the seats. Fang Fang looked at the hole with wide eyes then towards the rear of the truck where he saw the smoking hole from the bullet's entry.

In the truck ahead of them Leon was driving as fast as he could, gripping the steering wheel tightly while Astreal was holding onto her seat with fright. In the back Dark was holding onto Mizore from around her upper chest while he was knelt down beside her, sitting next to Ceal as he was working his magic to restore the snow maiden's body.

"Keep it steady, I need her to remain still during this," Ceal called up.

"You tell that to them!" Leon yelled back. Apoch held onto Arial worriedly as she looked around at the interior of the truck, hearing the bullets striking the outside repeatedly, all while the snow angel was out cold in her arms still. Complica trembled and looked around nervously while Render was watching Mizore worriedly.

"Please tell us she's almost good to go man, this ride's about to get really bumpy really quick," he said urgently.

"Afraid not, I still need more time to finish with this, her circulatory system isn't a simple thing you know," Ceal said shaking his head.

"Sorry but I sort of slept through biology class a lot, not really my thing. But c'mon man, isn't there a faster way of doing this?" Render said before he saw a bullet strike through the ceiling and pierce the side of the truck. Sun looked at the bullet hole with wide eyes while Complica turned pale with fear.

"If there was don't you think I would have done so?" Ceal said flatly.

"Just hang on Mizore," Dark said looking around as the truck swerved a bit on the road. Mizore held onto his arm tightly while watching Ceal slowly move his hands around her stomach and lower body.

"We're going to die. We're going to die and I'm going to be gone forever and Arial will be gone forever and we'll be gone and you'll all be dead and no no NO!" Complica cried out shaking her head. Sun held her worriedly as she looked around, holding the chronofly angel close with one arm while using her other to hold onto her seat.

"We're not going to die Ms. Complica; we're going to get you out of here. Just try to remain calm," Apoch said while holding Arial in her arms, the snow girl's hair swaying gently behind her as the truck swerved a bit on the road.

"Get us out of here; we need to get out of their sight!" Dark called out.

"You think this is easy buddy? You want to try this?" Leon shouted back. Dark looked to the front then to Mizore, the snow girl nodding in agreement for him. Dark nodded then got up and ran towards the front of the truck, grabbing Leon and yanking him out of the seat. Astreal watched as Dark sat in the seat and took the wheel, the demon then looking back to Leon.

"Keep my Mizore still back there. Now!" he ordered out.

"Wha… just who the hell do you think you are anyway?" Leon snapped with discontent.

"Just do it!" Apoch cried out. Leon glanced back to the snow maiden then to Dark, then back to Mizore. The boy then ran over and tried to help keep her steady by holding her by the shoulders while Dark looked around ahead of him at the city streets.

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the world, on the isle of Sicily's eastern face, stood the volcano, Mount Etna. Within the human world Etna was renowned for its beautiful scenery along with its fiery and destructive history. Unbeknownst to humanity, within the Yokai World and within the mountain's caldera lay what would seem to be impossible; hanging seemingly perilously above a lake of seething magma an island of sorts, its landscape carved intricately within the igneous rock and designed skillfully by what could be seen as a miracle of nature, in a fashion that when the volcano began to stir and build up, the island itself would go unharmed during and after an eruption. Almost too much of a miracle if not accomplished with intent.

Upon this neigh impossible island within the mountain that made it seem that life could not be possible stood something all the more astounding; a grand estate that humbled the greatest of architecture in both the human and Yokai worlds utterly. Surrounded by impossible lakes and luxurious gardens, the estate appeared to be crafted from granite and marble. To any human architect; such a feat would be impossible and to gaze upon such spectacle would leave even the most intricate minds breathless.

Within the estate itself several servants were gathered around a TV inside a parlor, all of them being females in their early and late twenties while wearing traditional maid uniforms. The news broadcast they were witnessing was from a human helicopter which was following three escaping vehicles and what appeared to be a very large task force of HDA enforcers. The maids watched with growing concern as the HDA pursuers opened fired on the vehicles which were being used by monsters who had escaped from HDA custody.

"This is terrible," one of the maids said softly.

"My prayers go out to those unfortunate monsters, I hope they can retreat back into our world quickly," another said shaking her head.

"Whether those are innocent monsters or not, it makes no difference; in the eyes of mankind we're nothing but horrible creatures yet again," a third said with a remorseful sigh.

"Oh no, they're running out of road to escape in, they're not going to make it," another said while holding a hand over her mouth. Another watched the report then slowly raised an eyebrow in question.

"Um, they don't appear to be slowing down…" she said cautiously.

* * *

"There's nowhere for us to go, we're going to be shot to pieces," Astreal said nervously. Dark growled then looked ahead to seeing the road coming to a T-intersection, with a large mall in front of them while people were running away screaming in the streets.

"You can't make that turn at this speed," Astreal warned shaking her head. She watched as Dark was still driving towards the end of the street at high speed, the demon narrowing his eyes as he kept a firm grip on the wheel. Dark looked ahead then glanced to Astreal, the witch looking ahead with nervous eyes.

"Um… Mr. Dark?" she asked glancing to him. Render looked ahead and slowly shook his head.

"Don't tell me he's going to…" he said worriedly.

"He's going to," Apoch said as she grabbed her seat firmly while holding Arial close. Leon and Ceal looked ahead then down to Mizore as Leon held her shoulders securely. Render knelt down next to Ceal and held the snow maiden's legs down while Sun held Complica close to her. Astreal gripped her seat and the dashboard ahead of her as she shook her head.

"Is this really a better way?" she asked.

"It's the only way. We need to get off the streets now," Dark said as the vehicle raced towards the mall, the front of the building having glass doors as well as large panes of glass above them showing the three story galleria with its open atrium. Dark floored the gas and the truck roared down the road towards the mall, with the following vehicles watching with surprise.

"What's Leon doing?" Razico said shaking his head.

"What's going on out there?" Gin called out.

"Um… looks like we're taking a detour!" Ruby cried out as she gripped the seat, watching as the truck ahead of them drove through the front of the mall with a crash. Glass and steel blasted away as the truck raced into the galleria, with people inside screaming and running to the sides of the building. Razico floored it and followed after while Sandra watched with wide eyes, as did the rest of her passengers.

"Are they insane?" Gabriel cried out. Kurumu looked back to see several rockets firing from the helicopters, the missiles flying towards them at high speed.

"Just go! NOW!" she screamed as she held onto her seat. Sandra yelled with fright as she drove into the building after the two trucks, with the rockets flying down and blasting apart the entrance and shattering all the glass above it right behind them. The explosions demolished the panes of glass and front of the building as people were thrown back from the blast. Two HDA humvees raced through the flames and smoke into the building as the rest of the ground forces swerved and turned down the other roads. The choppers flew up over the building while people all around the area were screaming and pointing to the chaos.

* * *

The servants within the parlor watched as the three vehicles of escaping monsters crashed into a human mall and drove right into it, being followed by two HDA Humvees while the others vehicles quickly turned around the building and began to surround it.

"Oh dear," one of them said shaking her head slowly. Another sighed and waved the group off.

"Come, I don't believe we need to be spending our time watching our own kind being slain once again, we have work to do. All we can hope for is that our fellow monsters managed to elude their pursuers by impeccable luck," she reasoned solemnly. The group of servants nodded and started to disperse, all fearing what would happen between the two worlds now that their kind was once again hated by humanity.

Elsewhere within the estate itself, upon its top floor, a maid who barely looked in her late twenties was busy sweeping the floor of the room she occupied. What made this room so unique was its spaciousness; a hall of sorts and in which in the back stood an ornate throne, so unlike anything seen in either worlds, even disregarding the figure sat upon it. The figure was purely stone, a statue of a being with arching horns, a lengthy tail, and angelic wings seemingly made of Black Marble or Obsidian with thin cracks webbing across its otherwise pristine surface.

The maid attended to her work, spending a moment every other few minutes to glance at the statue with a pair of honey brown eyes and a small sad smile, almost as if hoping it would come to life. With a sigh she continued her work.

"Lukather! I've told you again, you can't just go storming in there!" a firm voice, clearly feminine, called out, snapping the young maid's attention to the door as a young lizard boy, human in shape save his tail and face, burst through and began scuttling around the room with an almost teasing chuckle.

"I'm warning you! This is the last place of which you should be playing!" the woman's voice called out again before its owner, being a lizardwoman almost identical to the young boy, entered the room with a tired look on her face.

"But mom! I'm bored!" Lukather retorted with a pout before running behind one of the ornate pillars at the far end of the room.

"You're always working, can't you just give me a break?"

The maid simply continued her chore but not without breaking into a grin.

_'Same old Lukather... Orime, you've got your hands full with that one.'_

"Seriously, you do not know yourself my boy! This is the one and only room you are NOT to play in, what would you do if you broke something?" Orime scolded as she suddenly broke into a sudden burst of speed and caught the young lizardboy out of nowhere.

"I'll make this up to you later ok? For now just-"

The sound of a faint heartbeat made the lizardwoman's head twitch just as did the ear of the maid's. After a moment of silence they both simply shrugged it off.

"Anyway, run on now; you're going to make a mess in here and after Bianca's just done such a good job too," Orime stated with finality.

"Ok... ok," Lukather groaned. He took a heavy step forward then stopped as a second faint heartbeat echoed through the hall.

"Mom... what's that?" he asked curiously.

"No... idea," Orime said softly. She frowned then quickly looked at the statue as a third heartbeat echoed, this time much louder then followed by a fourth. The sound caused the two women to look at each other wide eyed. Although it was a first for them, they knew what this meant.

"I'll inform Lady Eris," Bianca urged, her voice betraying a sense of excitement.

"He's finally waking up!"

She briskly grabbed the sweeping brush and made her way out of the room and rushed down a flight of stairs toward a door.

* * *

Inside the human mall the three escaping vehicles floored it through the ground level of the mall, with people screaming and diving out of the way as the trucks crashed through a few stands and carts. People on the upper levels looked down to seeing the vehicles plowing their way through the ground level with surprise as smoke and debris flew around at the front of the building.

"I don't think we're supposed to be driving in here!" Astreal cried out as she held onto her seat for dear life, seeing plaster and cardboard blasting apart in front of the truck as the vehicle raced through the building. The tires from the trucks squealed loudly while people screamed and ran off to the sides as fast as they could.

"I didn't think Leon was this brave to do this," Razico said as he kept close behind the other HDA truck.

"I'm sorry, brave? More like suicidal!" Ruby cried out as she held onto her seat, watching as people and stores along the walls of the building flew by her window in a blur. Yukari looked ahead out the front window and just stared with wide eyes.

"Are we inside a human mall?" she asked in disbelief.

"Now isn't the time to go shopping!" Gin shouted out.

Behind them Sandra was driving through the mall with fearful eyes while her passengers were looking around curiously.

"I've… never been in a human mall before," Gabriel said weakly.

"This isn't how it's normally done," Rason said shaking his head.

"Is this really any better than being outside?" Moka asked worriedly.

"At least they're not firing rockets at us in here," Kurumu said while breathing out in relief. The rear window shattered as a bullet struck through it, the group looking back to seeing two humvees chasing after them. Atop each vehicle a solider was holding a heavy assault rifle while standing up through the roof, firing at the escaping group while people screamed and ran off from the scene.

"Get down!" Moka cried out grabbing Rason and Kurumu, the three ducking down as Sandra swerved the truck around a bit. Gabriel held onto the seat as he looked back to seeing the HDA men firing at them, the bullets striking the hood and rear of the truck as a few shot past them. A round shot off the rearview mirror, another struck the rear tire causing the vehicle to skid and tremble, another cracked the front windshield.

And another shot through Sandra's head.

"No!" Gabriel yelled out as the human jerked forward onto the wheel as blood splattered onto the front windshield. Moka and the others looked over and gasped as Sandra was hunched over on the wheel, the girl's eyes wide while a hole was through her head.

"Sandra!" Moka cried out. Gabriel stared with wide eyes as he saw the girl shot dead right before him, her eyes no longer focusing as her hands dropped to her sides.

"Oh god, she's dead!" Kurumu cried out. Gabriel looked at the girl with a stunned expression then ahead as the SUV continued to drive with the fallen girl's foot on the gas pedal.

Dark looked around quickly as he continued to race through the human mall, then ahead to seeing them approaching a large courtyard in the atrium. In the center of the area was a large pyramid made of steel and glass, the centerpiece to the rounded courtyard lighting up with a soft glow of different colors. The courtyard had tables and chairs set up around it while branching off in four directions into the mall. People looked to seeing vehicles racing towards them, then screamed and scattered away from the area. Dark gripped the wheel tightly and looked back to the others.

"Everybody hang on!" he called out as he turned the wheel, the truck's tires squealing as he tried to turn the large vehicle. Razico watched the truck ahead of him start to turn then followed after, the two sliding a bit as they started to drive around the large pyramid that glowed with a green and blue light. The two trucks swerved a bit and slid sideways as they tried to keep steady, their wheels squealing as they drifted around the large centerpiece. The passengers held onto their seats while Render and Leon tried to keep Mizore still, the snow girl looking around worriedly while Ceal concentrated on finishing up her body's reconstruction. The two front drivers then watched as an HDA SUV raced into the courtyard and struck into the pyramid, the vehicle going up at an angle as the glass cracked and shattered while the steel bent and twisted under the weight.

"No!" Astreal cried out as the SUV spiraled off the edge of the pyramid and soared through the air.

"Is that… no!" Ruby cried out as the SUV crashed into the ground on its side and skidded across the courtyard. Dark and Razico slammed on their brakes causing the two trucks to swerve and skid through several tables and chairs while people ran off screaming. Humans on the upper levels watched with wide eyes and open mouths as the SUV slammed into a clothing department store, crashing through the front glass and into the department while people inside ran towards the back screaming.

"What happened?" Apoch called out as the truck came to a halt.

"Ms. Moka's vehicle crashed!" Astreal said as she saw the downed SUV inside the clothing store. Sun and Complica stood up as Mizore watched with worried eyes.

"Oh no, Sandra!" Complica cried out.

"Oh god, they're down!" Ruby said as she and the warlock watched with surprise.

"Who's down?" Ahakon called up as the passengers in back regained themselves. They stood up and looked out the front window to seeing the SUV smoking from inside the clothing store.

"Big sis!" Kokoa cried out.

* * *

"Lady Eris!" Bianca exclaimed as she burst through a pair of elegant doors, beholding a pale blue haired woman facing away from the door adorn in light armor and knelt down in the center of the room, seemingly in prayer as she mumbled in almost a soprano hum.

"...I believe it is polite for you to knock first," Eris muttered in a monotone manner. She stood to her feet, turned to face Bianca and lay her deep green eyes on the servant who quickly apologized with a curtsey.

"Now, what is the purpose of your rush?" the blue haired woman questioned with a piercing glance.

"Lady Eris, I was sweeping in the throne room when several heartbeats echoed. My Lady... I believe, the Emperor is beginning to rouse from his dormancy!" Bianca exclaimed with urgency. Eris' eyes focused on word of Bianca's statement and with it, she stood and placed her hand idly on the pommel of the sword resting in its scabbard next to her.

"How long has it been occurring?" Eris asked as she walked toward the door.

"About a few minutes, My Lady," Bianca replied earnestly as she followed.

"I see... kindly gather everyone and inform them on this development. I will attend to Lord Apollo on his eventual awakening," the Blue haired woman instructed to which Bianca bowed and began to go her way, but then turned to ask.

"It varies," Eris stated without even looking, instinctually knowing the question that never escaped the young maid's lips. With it, the armored maiden made her way to the throne room.

* * *

Inside the SUV that was on its side Moka, Kurumu, and Rason were slowly regaining their senses, the three lying on top of each other on the broken side window. Gabriel shook his head to clear his vision then looked with dismay at seeing Sandra hanging above him, the girl buckled in still with her seatbelt while one of her arms was broken and twisted over the steering wheel. Her head was hung low while blood trickled down from her bullet wound.

"I'm sorry girl… I'm so sorry," Gabriel said softly as the others looked to her. They all screamed as bullets started to shoot around them, the group looking out the back window to seeing the two humvees pulling to a quick stop out in the courtyard. One of the gunners opened fired on the SUV while the other fired off to the side at something else. Moka and her group ducked behind the seats the best they could as bullets tore through the chassis and shattered the windows.

"We're trapped!" Kurumu cried out.

"Now what do we do?" Gabriel called out as he ducked behind the seat while another bullet shot through Sandra's body above him.

Astreal screamed as she and Dark ducked down, the two avoiding gunfire as the windshield and windows shattered from bullets flying through. The two darted into the back of the truck as bullets struck the side of the vehicle repeatedly.

"We need to get to them, fast!" Render said as he and Leon heard the gunfire strike all along the side of the truck. The group looked over to seeing a grenade flying through the front window and dropping down onto the seat then the floor, the round device rolling a bit as everybody stared at it. Apoch screamed and held out a hand, manifesting a barrier between the group and the front of the truck. The grenade detonated and blasted the front of the truck into fiery pieces, the debris and flaming shrapnel flying off as the group braced from the explosion.

"This can't possibly get any worse," Astreal said worriedly as they saw smoke and flames billowing around outside of Apoch's shield.

"Dark…" Arial said softly, the group looking to the snow angel as she slowly opened her eyes a bit.

"Oh yes it can," Leon said quietly as Mizore stared with wide eyes at Arial, the snow maiden still unable to move and in very close proximity to the angel that clearly didn't like her very much.

"No!" Ruby cried out as she and her group saw the truck ahead of them blast apart in the front, the witch and warlock then ducking down as gunfire struck their windows and shattered them. The two scrambled back into the truck with the others as the front of the vehicle was pelted with gunfire along with the side.

"We need to help them!" Ahakon called out.

"Help them? Who's going to help us?" Ran yelled as a bullet tore through the side and just missed her head, the girl screaming as the spark from the round flashed on the wall behind her.

Arial stirred a bit then slowly sat up, looking around slowly while Apoch held her nervously.

"Wha… where am I?" Arial asked softly as her vision slowly focused. She blinked then saw Dark looking at her with wonder.

"Dark!" she said happily as she leapt out of the witch's arms and embraced him in a hug. He held her with one hand as he looked down at the snow angel.

"Arial, you're ok," he said with relief. The angel looked up at him with bright eyes and held him closely around the waist. She then looked around quickly as she heard all the gunfire echoing out.

"What's going on Dark? Where are-" she said before she saw Mizore, the snow maiden looking at her with worry while Ceal had his hands on her stomach still. Render and Leon glanced to Mizore then to Arial as Apoch and Astreal backed up a bit.

"You," Arial said as she bared her teeth slightly and glared at Mizore.

"…hey," Mizore said softly.

"You're still alive?" Arial growled out. Mizore slowly glanced to Ceal as the catalyst mage didn't even bother to look over to the snow angel. Dark looked at Arial with wonder before a bullet shot through the wall with a spark and a bang, striking the wall above Mizore as the group watched with surprise.

"Can we have this conversation later you guys? We have a bit of a problem here," Render said as he saw the flames and smoke die down to show the mangled front engine and seats of the truck. Dark looked towards the front of the truck then down to Arial.

"Stay here with Mizore, I'll be right back," he said gently. Arial looked to him curiously while Mizore stared at him with wide eyes, the snow maiden not liking that suggestion at all. Dark glanced to Apoch then to Astreal.

"You two, with me," he said as his eyes turned pitch black and looked back out toward the front of the truck. Arial watched him with a dreamy expression and wavered a bit, captivated by the dark aura of the demon. As Arial tuned the world out around her the witch sisters glanced to Mizore, the snow maiden shaking her head worriedly.

"What exactly are you going to do? And why are you taking them with you?" Leon asked cautiously as Apoch and Astreal slowly walked over to Dark. He grabbed their hands and glanced back to them.

"We're going to kill them," he said before they vanished into a black wisp. Sun and Complica watched with wonder as the three seemed to vanish right before their eyes while Leon and Render peered around for any sight of their girls.

"Wow… handy trick," Render said with a nod.

"He'd better bring them back alive," Leon said with concern. The group then looked to Arial as she was still staring out to where Dark and the witches had left. After a pause she slowly looked back to Mizore. The snow angel growled as her hair froze over, turning to face Mizore as her hands formed into ice claws. Before she could take a step closer to the snow maiden Complica jumped in front of her and shook her head.

"Please don't Arial, don't hurt her," she pleaded. She then looked around with surprise as the interior of the truck started to freeze over, with frost and ice appearing on the ground and walls around the snow angel. Sun looked around worriedly as Ceal kept working on restoring Mizore's body.

"You think you can take my Dark from me?" Arial demanded as her eyes grew colder.

* * *

"He's waking! The emperor, he's awakening!" Bianca called out as she rushed throughout the large estate. She burst into a large library where other maids were busy keeping the place dustless and in prime condition.

"He's awakening!" she cried out with joy before taking off down the hall again. The other servants glanced to each other with raised eyebrows.

"Is this some sort of cruel joke?" one of them asked dryly.

"I hope Lady Eris will give that girl a stern lecture about spreading such tales," another said before the servants resumed their work. After a moment they all stopped and glanced to each other.

"Do you suppose… it could be true?" one asked softly, with a hint of wonder.

Bianca ran down an elegant hallway then into a large dining hall where a few maids were occupied with keeping the large dining table and furniture in pristine condition.

"He's awakening! It's finally happening!" she called out before taking off into the manor again. The servants merely watched her go as the door slowly closed behind her then looked to each other.

"She couldn't have meant…" one of them said before they all slowly looked back towards the door. One of the maids walked over and opened the door slightly, watching Bianca running off with a skeptical eye.

"A heartbeat! A heartbeat echoed through the throne room four times and more!" Bianca called out loudly. The servants in the nearby rooms and hall quickly snapped to attention at her words, all of them then rushing towards the hall with wonder.

"A heartbeat?" one of the older servants said with a hand over her mouth.

"Oh my word, oh my word… is it true?" one of them called out. Quickly a following of servants scattered throughout the manor in haste, Bianca's words seeming to have ignited a startling revelation with them all.

"He's awakening! His heart is beating once more!" a maid called out as she ran by an open lounge, the servants inside looking towards the doorway with surprise and a few jumps.

"What? He is? Really?" one of them said with a bit of nervousness.

"Hurry up and finish your duties at once, make haste!" another called out before some of them quickly scurried around anxiously.

"He's really awakening again? It's a miracle!" another cheered out as she rushed up a flight of stairs while holding her broom.

"Hurry! We must make sure this place is in excellent form for his return!" another called out anxiously.

"Oh my god, do I look alright? Do I? Somebody tell me!" another cried out while quickly examining herself all over in a large mirror.

"Not a single speck of dust may lie anywhere in this house, make sure that this place is spotless!" another ordered out as she rushed down a hall while holding a bucket of cleaning supplies.

"Prepare the dining hall with a feast for him; he'll be famished after a long rest. Hurry!" another ordered out into the kitchen, with chefs and cooks then making haste throughout the large galley.

"Where's my bow? For god's sake somebody help me find it, I can't let him see me without it!" another maid cried out as she ran around a hall in a panic, holding a hand to her hair while she searched for her missing maid's apparel.

As the servants quickly rushed around to finish their jobs Bianca ran throughout the manor, spreading the word that her master was once again returning.

* * *

Outside in the courtyard the two heavy gunners were firing at the vehicles with a focused glare as the humvees were parked by the destroyed pyramid display. One of them was shooting up a downed SUV while the other was pelting the truck that had its front engine blown off. Standing outside on both sides of the humvees were HDA soldiers firing their rifles at the trucks as well, all eight of them trying to gun down the escaping monsters while people all around were running away screaming. They shot out all the wheels and windows, all while trying to pierce through the armored chassis to take down the monsters within.

"Keep firing, don't let those things escape!" a soldier called out. Another grabbed his radio as he ducked back inside one of the humvees.

"We have them pinned down in the galleria, we need backup here!" he yelled out into the device before reloading his rifle.

Suddenly a bolt of red light shot out of thin air and struck through one of the top gunners, the man jerking back as the light pierced through his head. As he fell down into the vehicle a soldier by the front door was slashed down his chest by an invisible blade, the man crying out as he dropped down. The other soldiers watched with surprise as another blast of red light flew out of thin air and struck down the other heavy gunner.

"What the hell is that?" a soldier yelled out looking around franticly. He looked down to seeing the pin from his grenade being pulled off, then being punched back into the vehicle next to him. The grenade blasted the humvee into a fireball as the other soldiers stumbled back.

"Where are they? I don't see them!" a soldier called out before he was sliced down the middle by an invisible blade. Another was shot down by a bright red light and flew back into the side of the other humvee. Soldiers looked around quickly before another was slashed down and one more was shot by the bright red projectile.

"Dammit, get us some damned backup now!" a soldier yelled into his radio. His hand twisted around as the pin popped off of his grenade, the man then being thrown into the humvee as his other comrade was shot pointblank in the head by a bright red light. The vehicle blasted apart as Dark, Apoch, and Astreal reappeared away from it, the trio looking at the downed HDA soldiers with discontent.

"Apoch, check on Moka and her group. Astreal, make sure Ruby and hers are alright," Dark ordered glancing to the sisters.

"Right," they said as they ran towards the vehicles. Dark ran back towards where Mizore and Arial were, looking around quickly to seeing people screaming and pointing at them.

"This isn't going to end well," he said dryly.

Apoch ran up to the overturned SUV and looked around worriedly.

"Ms. Moka? Ms. Kurumu? Hey, are you ok?" she called out. She saw Moka, Kurumu, and Rason slowly crawling out the back window while Gabriel climbed out the front window. The witch hurried over and helped Moka stand up, then helped Kurumu crawl out.

"Are you all alright?" Apoch asked worriedly as she helped the succubus stand up. Moka looked back to the SUV with remorse.

"Not all of us," she said softly. Apoch looked in and saw Sandra buckled in still, motionless while blood dripped from her head.

"Oh dear, the poor girl," she said with remorse. Gabriel looked back in at the fallen human then down with closed eyes.

Astreal ran over to the other truck and hopped up onto the side door, looking in worriedly to seeing the front dashboard and seats torn apart.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" she called out.

"Astreal? What's going on out there?" Yukari said as the group looked to her from the back of the truck.

"Is everybody ok?" Astreal asked worriedly.

"I believe we are, yes," Fang Fang said looking around at the group who was keeping their distance from the front of the truck.

"C'mon, we need to get out of here right now," Astreal said before jumping off the truck. The others quickly bolted out the back door and followed after while Apoch and Moka's group ran towards the other truck.

* * *

Within the large estate a stampede of servants ranging from maids, to butlers, to caretakers were rushing towards the throne room within the building, all of them speaking in exclamation about their master's return. They approached the grand doors to the throne room where Eris was standing outside of, watching the horse of servants rushing towards her with a steady expression. She held a hand up to halt them, of which they promptly did so while watching the doors behind her with anxious eyes.

"It is appreciated that you are curious to meet your master and mine, but I do believe the instruction was to continue your chores," she declared firmly.

"Is it true, is he really awakening?" a maid asked.

"Please tell us this was not a joke," a caretaker asked with a worried expression. Eris glanced around at the crowd then nodded.

"Bianca's claim was not in jest; I have heard the heartbeat myself. He has truly come back," she assured. The servants showed extreme excitement as they started whispering hushed tones of joy to each other. Eris nodded then held up both her hands outward.

"Please, return to your duties, he has yet to fully awaken," she called out. The crowd looked to her with disappointed eyes.

"Ma'am, must we depart? Cannot we stay in the royal hall with you and greet our master?" a maid asked.

"Please, we wish to welcome him back," another added hopefully. Eris gave a slight smile and shook her head.

"Do not come to him, I rest assure that he will come to you," she reasoned somewhat softly. The servants looked to the doors then slowly began to depart, all of them following their master's unofficial second-in-command. Eris watched them go then looked back to the doors behind her.

"As marvelous as this is, I wonder what this means for all of us."

* * *

In the human world Moka and her large group drove into a tunnel that was a gateway into the monster world, watching as the view of the seaside and night sky vanished behind the darkened tunnel walls as the five vehicles made their way back towards known sanctuary.

"At least we can go back and rest a bit. Today's been a real nightmare," Yukari said looking down with relief. Ahakon nodded then glanced to Ran, the siren looking down with closed eyes.

"Are you alright Ran?" he asked. The girl glanced to him and smiled slightly.

"Yeah… just… how do you keep so calm during all this?" she asked. Yukari and Ahakon looked at her as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

"I was scared all day today with you guys, but you… you managed to keep your head and keep pushing forward, all of you even. How do you do it?" she asked. Yukari smiled a bit and looked down.

"I suppose we've gotten used to it. We've been through so much together, I guess we've changed a lot during all of it," she reasoned softly. Ruby looked down and nodded, knowing she was far more battle experienced than before after everything the group had been through. They had all fought in wars and fights to the death, and have all even killed when needed to in order to survive and protect the innocent. Ahakon smiled a bit and patted the siren's hand gently.

"You did great out there Ran, really. And we were all scared too, it's not like this was a piece of cake for us either," he said gently. The siren smiled at him then glanced away with timid eyes.

"Thank you Ahakon," she said softly as she felt her heart beating a bit faster from his words. Yukari smiled amusingly at the siren's reaction to her hero complimenting her then leaned back in her seat.

"I'm just glad we're at least going back home," she said softly.

"Um… about that," Razico said looking around. The group looked to him then around, all of them noticing something that everybody else was as well.

"Wait… you guys?" Kurumu asked worriedly.

"This… isn't right," Leon said shaking his head.

"What's going on?" Gin asked looking around.

The five vehicles exited the tunnel and screeched to a stop in the middle of the road, the group looking around as they all noticed the same thing. There were no flashing streaks of light in the tunnel, no strange sights, and they still saw the blue sea and night sky off to the side after exiting the tunnel.

"We're… still here?" Moka said with surprise.

"But how?" Mizore asked looking around. Dark and Arial looked around as well, both of them seeing that the group was still in the human world.

"Wait, did we go through the wrong tunnel?" Gin asked looking back to the darkened tunnel behind them.

"I could have sworn that was the right one," Kokoa said looking around curiously. Ceal looked around slowly then shook his head a bit.

"The dark lords…" he said solemnly. The group looked to him as he slowly glanced to Complica.

"They sealed off the gateways."

* * *

Eris continued to patiently wait in front of the throne, the heartbeats echoing through at a steady pace when suddenly the right hand of the petrified figure twitched and cracked. The armored maiden fell to one knee and bowed her head, placing her right fist over her heart and her left hand over her fist as the crack on the hand grew and grew until the entire mass broke into pieces. In its place a deep gray clawed hand replaced it. The fingers of the hand flexed before reaching up to the face of the statue; crushing the stone under its glance. More of the inner being revealed itself and breathed a very deep sigh, almost as if growling when the eyes opened, revealing the right eye as amber without either a pupil or iris, while the left was a slit pupil and red in color.

The entire statue then stood up and with it, the stony 'shell' shattered from the movement. In its place amongst the debris the same, angelic winged figure with gray skin, black arching horns, and lengthy tail stood in the flesh wearing only a pair of fabric pants, his waist length hair a near platinum blonde falling freely between the arching horns that sprouted just above the being's temples which arched toward the back of his head before pointing downward toward his shoulder blades.

"I welcome you back, my Master," Eris greeted as she continued to bow, her face toward the ground both humble and proud that her lord and master had returned.


End file.
